First pitch: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Kansas City -110, Cleveland +100, Total: 7

The Royals attempt to make up some ground in the AL Central race on Wednesday when they take on the Indians for the final time in the 2014 campaign.

Kansas City is having a huge season and sits just one game behind the Tigers for the divisional lead in the AL Central. The club has won five of its past eight games, including the first two in this series, while outscoring opponents 14-3 over the current three-game winning streak. The Royals won the second game of this series by a score of 7-1 as they racked up 13 hits. OF Norichika Aoki (.284) has been their hottest hitter lately, going 26-for-64 (.406) with five doubles, 8 RBI and five runs in September (21 games). The Indians have lost their chance at the 2014 playoffs after losing seven of their past 12 contests. They have not been able to get any offense going against the Royals and had a mere five hits in Tuesday’s loss while going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. OF Michael Brantley (.327 BA) has certainly not been the problem and brings a 14-game hitting streak into this contest in which he has gone 25-for-56 (.446) with five doubles, two home runs, 8 RBI and eight runs. Getting the start for the Royals will be LHP Jason Vargas (11-10, 3.59 ERA) as he goes against Indians RHP Trevor Bauer (5-8, 4.06 ERA). When playing road games, Kansas City is an impressive 44-32 (.579) this year, and dropped Cleveland’s home record to 45-32 (.584) after Tuesday’s contest. These clubs have split their 18 games this year (9-9) while the Royals hold a slight 28-27 edge in the series over the past three seasons. When hosting since the start of the 2012 campaign, the Indians have a 15-12 series advantage. Bettors should know that Kansas City is 48-30 (.615) when the money line is +125 to -125 this year, while Cleveland is 32-14 (.696) in home games against left-handed starters over the past two years. In injury news, 2B Christian Colon (finger) is on the 15-day DL for the Royals, while 1B Nick Swisher (knee) is out for the year and SS Zach Walters (ribs) is listed as day-to-day.

Jason Vargas has bounced around on five different teams over his nine-year career, but has posted double-digit wins in three of the past four seasons. In 2014, he has maintained a pedestrian strikeout rate (6.3 K/9), but has shown impeccable control (1.9 BB/9), while allowing only 18 home runs in his 183 innings (0.89 HR/9). He has pitched well over his past three starts though, allowing 14 runs on 19 hits in 14 innings while being saddled with three losses. In his career against the Indians (8 starts), Vargas is 3-3 (4-4 team record) with a 4.88 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He gave up four runs on 10 hits in just six innings during a loss in his last meeting with this divisional foe on Aug. 29. Both 1B Carlos Santana (5-for-16, 1 RBI) and 2B Jason Kipnis (4-for-12, 4 RBI) have had success against Vargas in their careers, while OF David Murphy is a putrid 2-for-24 (.083) with five strikeouts in the matchup. At the end of games, the Royals bullpen has usually shut the door, posting a 26-17 record (.605), 3.38 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Their relievers are 50-for-62 (81%) in save opportunities led by Greg Holland (1.49 ERA, 44 saves), who is one of the elite closers in the game. Holland has struck out a huge number of batters (13 K/9) and has held 83% of runners on base.

Trevor Bauer is slowly starting to look like the pitcher who was picked third overall in the 2011 amateur draft, as he has dropped his walk rate to a respectable number (3.5 BB/9) and has struck out a solid 8.5 batters per nine innings over his 25 starts. Bauer has only walked two batters combined in his past three starts (19 IP), but has allowed four homers in that time while giving up nine runs on 14 hits as his team has lost each of his past four outings. Bauer is 0-1 (1-1 team record) with a 2.45 ERA, but 1.55 WHIP, when facing the Royals in his career, and helped his team to a win last time facing them on Aug. 30 after 5.2 scoreless innings in which he allowed four hits and five walks, but struck out six. No player on the Royals’ roster has more than six at-bats against the 23-year-old, but in limited time, 3B Mike Moustakas (2-for-4, 1 double) has done well while OF Alex Gordon is hitless in his five at-bats in the matchup. The relievers for Cleveland are a combined 34-22 (.607) this year with a strong 3.16 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, and have successfully saved 37-of-59 (63%) games. Closer Cody Allen (2.13 ERA, 22 saves) has blown four games in 2014 while striking out 11.8 batters per nine innings.